Christmas Hearts
by kdip4014
Summary: The first Christmas as a couple


So this is my Calzone Christmas one-shot. Let me know what you think. I think this is the only story I've written that turned out almost entirely on paper as it went in my head, so I'm proud of that.

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Noticing the clock reading ten minutes to midnight, Callie slips into her apartment as quietly as possible, knowing that both Christina and Arizona have to be at work early in the morning. Quietly slipping into her bathroom, she notices her pajamas lying where she left them that morning – neatly folded, as her girlfriend tends to do. Quickly brushing her teeth and changing, she slips into her room, noticing the bump that is her girlfriend under the covers, she slides in carefully trying not to wake her.

All her trouble to be quiet is wasted, when she turns over and notices that Arizona is wide awake, the twinkle in the eye and impish smile on her face lets her know that she's been awake for some time.

"How was your shift?" Arizona's voice remains quiet, as if afraid that speaking too loudly will cause time to speed forward and the magic of Christmas will be lost.

"Long, and seemingly never ending." Callie is just as quiet as she settles in close to the blond, brushing a strand of curls away as she settles down. The pair are quiet until Arizona remembers why she stayed awake, despite having to be at the hospital early the following day. Turning around, she reaches into the drawer of her bedside table and pulls out a small box wrapped in silver and tied with a blue bow.

"Merry Christmas." Arizona settles and hands the younger woman the box.

"This couldn't have waited until tomorrow?"

"Then it wouldn't have been a Christmas present. It would have just been a Saturday gift."

"Fine." Callie turns and digs into her own bedside drawer for the blonde's gift, a similarly sized box, wrapped in blue and tied with a gold ribbon.

"This couldn't have waited until tomorrow?" Arizona replied, with a cheeky grin.

"Shut up, you started it. Should I go first?"

"Please." Arizona falls silent, absently playing with the ribbon on her gift while Callie carefully opens her gift. Finally lifting the lid of the jewelry box, she falls silent for a second. Arizona takes pity on her and starts explaining.

"It's an Irish tradition. These used to be used as wedding rings – still are occasionally – symbolizing the handing over of your heart to another – this isn't a proposal, so you know, um… the hands are for friendship, the heart for love, and the crown for loyalty. I always thought those were three pretty important criteria for a marriage." Arizona plucks the ring from its box, gently takes hold of Callie's left hand, sliding the ring onto her ring finger, with the heart pointing towards her body. "Um, wearing it like this… says you're taken. It's not possession, I'm not saying that, but you hold my heart now, that tradition is being kept here."

Arizona falls silent, waiting for Callie's reaction. The brunette takes a moment to stare at the ring before looking up and meeting the blonde's gaze, smiling softly. She leans in for a soft kiss, breaking it off before it can get too intense.

"If you want that to be a Christmas gift, then you'd better open it now." Callie motions to the unopened gift, noticing that there's only a few minutes left till midnight. In the opposite move of Callie's, Arizona rips the paper off of her gift, saving the bow. Opening her box, she withdraws a drawstring pouch, made of the softest leather. Opening the pouch, she tips the contents into her hand. Holding it up to the light, she takes in the intricacies of the object in her hand; about an inch and half across, is an intricately designed silver heart. Arizona looks up to Callie's gaze to hear the story attached to it.

"My dad sent it out a few weeks ago. We don't even know how long it's been in the family, its Spanish silver. Traditionally it's given to the women that marry into the family. Mom's been holding onto it for years, she and dad have been trying to figure out who gets it next, since they only had girls. This is not a marriage proposal." Arizona smiles softly hearing her words thrown back at her. "But you're not the only one handing over their heart this year. I didn't want to, I've lost too much of it to George and Erica…but you – you've got a way of gluing the pieces of my heart back together and using glitter to hide the cracks. What's left, that's yours." Callie traces Arizona's smile gently passing over the dimples she quickly fell in love with before pulling the blonde back in for a kiss. This one doesn't break off after a few seconds.

As Arizona reaches behind her to place her gift on the table – never breaking the kiss – this one continues on, until it's no longer a Christmas kiss, until it becomes a Saturday kiss.


End file.
